I am a young Golden Retriever who was a homeless dog, I was moments away from being killed when I was rescued by Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR), given a foster home, then a forever home. I write this blog to inspire other dogs and humans to help find homes for abandoned dogs. My family takes in fosters now and I help homeless dogs find their way to forever homes. Write me at Mogley.retriever@gmail.com

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Today we had a huge pool party. 6 dogs came by to swim with Bella, Autumn and myself, 9 dogs in all. Bella and Autumn do not like to swim very well, so that left more room in the pool for the rest of us. Enjoy some of the fun below as we swim and race each other for tennis balls and just swim for fun.

We swam and played so much that we had to all stop, we were to tired to swim anymore. Our humans jjoined us, making it more fun as we raced them and made them throw the tenniis ballls over and over again.

You probably did not know that Golden Retrievers are real party animals!

Last night the humans went to a Golden Retriever Rescue Volunteer Appreciation Party, with out me!!!! How can they have a Golden Retriever party without me? It is something that I want to complain about. Is the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals open on Sunday to take complaints? They came home and talked about the party, probably to make me feel bad although they said it was so I could write about it. Likely story.

Over 100 volunteers came for a 70's themed party, apparently that is supposed to excuse humans when they dress up dumb. It was a good party, judging from how late they came home.

One of the highlights of the evening was this picture. The old blind Golden meets a young guide dog in training. This is why we do what we do! And they said no Golden's were allowed!!! Apparently the host of the party did not kick out her dogs but allowed them to party as well, along with guide and helper dogs in training.

Golden Retriever Rescue has helped rescue older, blind, sick and just "excess" dogs that their owners wanted to put to sleep, veterinarians know that if an owner wants to kill his pet, GRRRWill come to its aid. GRRR has recruited and helped train guide and helper dogs, and as it was pointed out that evening, GRRR has rescued many other dogs, making them "Honorary Golden Retrievers" so that our team could take them away from heartless, bored owners, high-kill shelters and dirty dog pounds.

Recently we had an emergency and needed several dogs transported, quick! An e-mail went out to the volunteers and in hours, over 150 people volunteered to drive over 200 miles to pick up and transport the dogs to a new home. Thousands of volunteers donate time, gasoline, dog food, toys and their loving homes to rescue over 400 dogs per year from seven states and for a thousand miles around.

Wonderful people helping Golden Dogs. That is what rescue is all about.

Maybe I will forgive them for having a party without me.

Golden's do get to go to the big party at Boulder Reservoir on September 13th. This is the annual Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies Reunion Picnic. Have you ever seen 400 wet Golden Retrievers in one place at one time? This is your chance. Tennis balls on the lake and food in the tents on shore. There is the great ball toss, all the dogs have to line up on shore, they throw hundreds of tennis balls into the lake, then we all hit the water in a huge retrieving contest. A lake, tennis balls, food, Golden Retrievers, what a plan. How can you miss it?

Friday, August 29, 2008

Humans have believed for years that dogs show their love and affection by licking a humans face. If the humans ever find out the truth, they will be very upset. We don’t lick their faces to show love. We don’t lick faces to share our affection. We lick human’s faces to clean our tongues. Our tongues hang out a lot because we have to pant to stay cool. Our tongues get dry and dirty from the dust in the house; we pick up what your vacuum cleaner misses. So we lick faces to clean all of the dust and dirt off of our tongues. It leaves our mouth tasting better. We are relocating the dust and dirt, leaving our tongues tasting much better. Sometimes we have to lick faces to clean our tongue after eating that horrible food they insist on feeding us. Where do they find that stuff? You try eating "lamb and rice" for 60 meals a month? Not even real meat, but just trimmings and by-products, they won't even list most of the nasty things they put into our food. Talk about tasting bad and boring!!!!

Talking about bad tasting things, why do humans throw tennis balls in the dust and dirt, and then expect us to fetch them. Do humans like the taste of dirt? Could you at least wash the tennis balls off once in a while? Be careful where you throw them if you want us to pick them up with our mouths. There is a certain amount of revenge involved in placing a slobbery, dirty tennis ball into a humans hand, then running away for them to throw the ball so we can fetch it again, placing a dirty, slobbery ball into their hands again.

My human has a beard, there is usually something left over from his lunch on his face to make my tongue taste better. I try to bump his hand when he is eating; it makes his face taste better. Sometimes we lick faces and hands because it is easier than panting. Humans are always cool, if not we can slobber on them and cool them down, then lick them and we cool down as well. It is simply a matter of planning ahead.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Humans are always laughing at us dogs because we spend a lot of time in the back yard chasing squirrels. Humans don’t understand the depth of the interaction and friendship that exists between dogs and squirrels. We don’t chase squirrels because we want to catch them. We chase them because squirrels always know the latest jokes. That chatter you hear is really the latest jokes that are making the rounds of the elm trees. Their jokes are good, but squirrels have a pretty dry sense of humor. They lose a lot in translation from dog to human which is why we never share the stories with our human companions.

Yesterday a squirrel told me a joke about a French poodle, a German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever, who all went into a pet shop. The manager asked them what they wanted.

The Poodle said he wanted some rawhide chew toys to chew on. The manager gave him two chew toys and said “That will be $4.98 please.” The Poodle scratched himself and thought about it for a while and finally admitted that he did not have any money. So the manager put the toys back on the shelf.

The store manager turned to the German Shepherd and asked him what he wanted. He barked “I think I will have two of the large cans of tennis balls, I always run out of tennis balls”. The store manager put two cans of tennis balls in a sack and said, “That will be $12.98 please.” The German Shepherd panted twice and then hung his head, “I don’t have any money.” The store manager put the tennis balls back on the shelf. The German Shepherd turned to his two friends and barked “We had better go, we can’t pay for things here, we don’t have any money.”

With that the three walked out the door. Outside the Golden Retriever told his two friends “Wait here a moment”. Then he went back into the store alone. A few minutes later he came out of the store carrying a bag. In the bag were two rawhide chew toys for the French Poodle, two cans of tennis balls for the German Shepherd, and two stuffed duck toys.

“How did you pay for these things,” asked the Poodle?

“I just whipped out my Golden American Express card,” replied the Golden Retriever,

“How did you get that,” asked the Poodle?

“My human got it for me the first time we went hunting. He stopped in a bar down the street, climbed up on a tall stool, handed me a credit card, pointed to the market down the street and said ‘Fetch!’ Ever since, we have never gone home without two ducks.”

I suppose this joke lost something in translation, you had to be there, the squirrels have such a great delivery style. They laugh so hard at their own jokes that we have to bark along just to be polite. Then they challenge us to a race, and off we go, they run down the top of the fence and we run along jumping up to show them we are faster than they are. They do cheat, all their races begin and end up a tree and they tease us because we never make it to the finish line.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Photo above, Chase.Sometimes we lose track of our foster brothers and sisters when they leave our care and go to a new home. Chase was such a beautiful and fun Golden brother. We played well together and we enjoyed each others company. We were sad to see him leave with "Bear", we went out the front driveway to say good by as he jumped up in the car to go to his new forever home. We could not stay sad for long because Kiah came into our home almost immediately. If you read my blog you have read about both of them. What we did not tell you is the next chapter in both of their lives. Below is Chase and I, still wet from the pool.

A week later we had a call from the Rescue Placement Office. They asked if Kiah could come by and meet a prospective new forever home? When we arrived at Rescue, we were surprised to see Chase back at rescue. Chase is a beautiful, large 9 month old Golden Retriever. Full of energy and always looking for new fun.

Chase had learned a new trick at his new home. He had learned to play keep away with the humans artificial leg. He had also learned that when she was wearing it he could grab at it (after all, it was a toy) and trip her. She fell when he was trying to take the leg away as she was walking on it. The reason Chase was placed with "Bear" was that Chase needed exercise, "Bear" also needed exercise and Chase was to be the motivation to keep them both active. They had bonded and were a wonderful pair, except for his playfulness and his love of the game "keep away". His playfulness could mean severe injury to her at some point, not to mention the problems she had chasing him across the floor to get back her leg with him running away with it. Chase had become the perfect. lovable, anti-helper dog. But we do know he is appropriately named.

We were at the Rescue to see if Kiah would be a better fit in this home than Chase. Kiah made an instant impression with "Bear", Kiah was the same size and had the same looks as the dog she had recently lost. Kiah's birthday was even the same date as her prior dog's birthday had been. The meeting was an instant success. Kiah was 4 years old and had settled down. Kiah was not a "toy hound" that obsessed with toys and games. Kiah was a mellow girl that thrived on attention but was not big on the whole play thing. Kiah had found her new home. Amid tears of sorrow for having to surrender Chase, there was also joy at the adoption of Kiah into a forever, forever home. Below, Kiah, the happy face.

But what about Chase? If you read my blog you know that we came home with a new foster that day, Autumn, not with Chase. When Chase had gone home with "Bear", there was already a waiting list for him, several people had read his story and had asked for him. They needed to be approved for an adoption, their homes had to be visited to make sure they could provide a proper home for an energetic Golden. Approval takes time and while they were waiting, Chase went home with "Bear". They were now approved and patiently waiting for another dog, when Chase reappeared on the scene.

While Chase was on his way back to the rescue offices, phone calls were being made to the list of waiting families. The rush was on to see who could be the first to meet Chase and take him to a new forever home. Chase now has a new home where he plays keep away with lots and lots of tennis balls and he has kids that can run with him.. He is now in a home where he can play keep away with appropriate items, and his energy can be channeled.

We don't know if he has a large toy shaped like a leg, but that may be a good idea for some dog toy maker to market. It may not be a best seller, but I do know someone that would buy one. This is one of the very few times that a placement has come back, but we can certainly understand why and we are glad that the story has a happy ending for all.

Monday, August 18, 2008

My human must have a duck and tennis ball fixation. We have many different ducks for me to play with. Here are some pictures of some of the ducks he bought for me. He brought me a rubber duck. He thinks its funny to see me play with a tiny toy like this. I was pretty young when he took this pictures. Ducks are tough! Even Bella and I can not pull it apart. They are sure good to play tug-o-war with. This was our Christmas Duck.

This is my second Christmas duck, the first one did not last long.

I took better care of this duck, I even slept with it for several days before I killed it.

Below, my human tried to fool me with a fake duck in the pool. It did not take me long to find out it was fake. he can't fool me. I have seen real ones when we go to the lake.

Ducks and Golden Retrievers just go together!

Now he is going to buy me a pheasant to fetch. We have twenty tennis balls, but he keeps buying new toys. I think it is time to go to the range and let me fetch the real thing.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

This is embarrassing. The humans found some photos of me when I first came home with them in July of last year. I was not even 7 months old yet but I was already very handsome. The toy in front of me did not last through the night, I destroyed it!

It was also a year ago that I went to the Golden Retriever Rescue Reunion Picnic. We have another one coming up soon. Isn't this fun? I hope all of the rescue dogs will come back for our annual reunion this year.

These are not only all (or mostly) Golden Retrievers, but they are rescue dogs, or family's of rescue dogs. Homeless dogs that have been given new homes and new lives.

I was cold, wet, a little scared and I sat in the only available chair where I could get warm. It was my first trip out to a GRRR event. I did not know there were that many dogs in the whole world. I sure did have fun, I swam with the big dogs and played with everyone until I was too tired and cold to continue on. Just wait till this year's picnic, I can now swim twice as good as I could last year.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My human asked me how many foster Golden's we have taken into our home this year. It is over 10, but it is hard to keep track. Some of our Golden friends have spent less than 24 hours with us before going to a forever home, some spent 3 weeks before they could be placed. If they need medical care or they have a behaviour problem, it takes longer for them to move on with their lives. When Kennel Cough came into the house we had to stop everything until it could be cured.

Here are two of the special friends that we enjoyed this year. The human says that he could have permanently kept any of the foster visitors and each one leaves a wonderful memory behind. Thinking back on our foster siblings, a very special one was Thelma, below.If you remember, Thelma and Louise were made "HonoraryGolden's" after they were picked up running free on the desert in New Mexico. We had to get them out of a high kill shelter quickly, so we forged Golden Retriever Certificates for them so they could enter the Golden Retriever Rescue system. We do that for a lot of dogs, that is why GRRR is so special, our volunteers go to a shelter to pick up a Golden and come back with several more dogs because they were on the shelters "short list".

Thelma and Louise were so bonded that to socialize them they were sent to different homes. Thelma was distinctive because she had to test her limits regularly. She would pick up a shoe and look at the human to see if she was going to get yelled at. She would start edging up to the table to see how far she could stretch across it without getting into trouble. She was quick to obey, she just had to test to see where the lines were. She had not spent time in a home before and she needed to learn the limits. Thelma needed exercise every day or she would start getting into things. If she was tired she would be a perfect dog. If she was fresh, she would look for trouble.

Daisy, above, was the opposite. She knew the limits, she just became to excited and to exuberant to worry about them. She behaved beautifully, never did anything bad, but she bounced off of walls with her play. She played until she had to drop and sleep, then she would wake up and play some more. If she picked up something she was not supposed to it was only to get attention and force the human to chase her to get it back. She needed action!

Each of the 12 Golden's had a very distinct personality, distinct combination of size, coat, color and face. The human says that if all of them were lined up he could pick them out. He thinks if he could just watch them play he could pick them out by temperament.

That is why it is important that the match team understand both the prospective home and the homeless dog to make a good match. We need to make sure you understand that each dog is an individual. We may all look golden, but we are all individuals. That is why GRRR uses foster homes instead of chain link runs. We are all in need of a home where we can be ourselves.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

This is our last picture with Kiah as we leave to take her to her new forever home. I am on the left, then Bella with Kiah trying to squeeze out to look.

The following are pictures that were taken when Kiah, Bella and I went to the big dog run In Cherry Creek State Park. It is our last outing with Kiah before she went to her forever home. Isn't she a lovely and fun foster sister? Have a wonderful life, Kiah.

Thursday evening Bella and I were at the concert in the park, two humans and two Golden's were laying on the grass listening to the music. Everyone that passed by stopped to pet us. Children even brought their parents by to pet us. We were having a good time. Bella and I were the best Golden Retrievers on the green. Then the humans cell phone rang. It was Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies, GRRR, calling to tell us that there was an abandoned golden in need of a foster home. Mogley to the rescue!

In less than two hours we were back with Kiah. Kiah is a four year old lady, she was the victim of a divorce, she had not done anything wrong, she had not chewed on any shoes. She had not stolen food off the table. She walked well on a leash and obeyed her commands when told to sit or stay. But she ended up in the rescue system because the broken home left no room in a tiny apartment for a dog, even a very, very good dog.

Kiah spent the first few hours laying in the front porch, watching the road, hoping her real family would come claim her back. Even when we called her in to dinner, she went right back to her vigil as soon as she was done.

As Kiah settled in with us we learned a lot about her. She had been a townhouse dog, without a yard to play in and few chances to interact with other dogs. She was very quiet, she did not rough house with Bella and I, she did not get rowdy when company arrived. Calm, collected and dignified would best describe her.

Below, Kiah, on the left, Bella on the right, and I wait for a treat for posing for our pictures. The human wrote an e-mail to the rescue placement office telling them that Kiah was close to being a perfect dog. She did not chew on shoes even though she slept with the humans sheepskin bedroom slippers laying beside her paws. She was perfectly housebroken, she did not jump on people when they came to visit. She did not pull on the leash when walking. She did not bark at strangers on the sidewalk out front. She knew her commands and obeyed them.

She clearly had been loved and well cared for by her former owners. She missed them and she was anxious about the kind of home she would be sent to as her new Forever Home. She was so perfect that even before she appeared in my blog or on the Internet listing of available dogs, she had several people asking about her. There were several people on the waiting list who had asked about a special golden friend like her, the e-mail describing her was quickly forwarded to people on the waiting list.

Sunday we went to the big park for a run. It was the first time that Kiah had been allowed to run lose without her leash and she did enjoy it. The humans are careful, they make sure we come back when called before they take us to the big park, it is four miles square with forests, rivers and lakes. They make us drag our leashes while they make sure we come when called. Only then will they take the leash off and let us go full speed. It only took a short time before Kiah was running free. She was always good about responding when called and she was rewarded with more time to run free. We arrived home, tired, hot and dusty.

Back home a telephone call was waiting. The rescue placement team had found a match and Kiah was to meet a possible new forever home. It is a long way from our home to the rescue offices, but it is always worth the drive. I had taken a swim just before I was loaded into the car, by the time we arrived at the rescue I was dry.

Kiah was introduced to "Bear". Bear had lost her long time golden buddy and was still saddened by his passage. She needed another Golden Retriever to help her move on, it was a perfect fit, Kiah needed another human to help her forget her loved ones so she, too, could move on.

Kiah was with us for less than three whole days. We are happy to see her move on to a wonderful forever home, we are also happy that she went to someone we knew from prior Golden Retriever events.

Before we left the rescue, we were introduced to Autumn. Autumn is a 4 year old Golden who was surrendered after a divorce left her with no home. She spent the night in a chain link run at the rescue and she was anxious to have a warm, comfortable place tonight. We never leave a golden in a kennel, it is not the way to treat such wonderful friends, the goal is to have a foster home waiting for them. Sometimes there is a late night surrender or an unscheduled drop off that prevents a foster home from being found immediately. We drove over with Kiah, we came back with a new foster sister. I will tell you more about Autumn in another blog.

Now it is time to say goodbye to Kiah, we know we will see you at the Golden Retriever Reunion Picnics and the Golden Swim Party in the park. Kiah, you are a wonderful lady, we wish you a wonderful life, take good care of your new human for you were destined to be together. Someday I may write more about how the match came to be, it is a wonderful story itself.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The resident human keeps trying to make me work for my room and board. First he makes me fetch the newspaper from the front driveway in the mornings. Then he makes me chase the squirrels and raccoons out of the yard. He makes me bark when people come to the door or walk by in the park. He litters the lawn with tennis balls and expects me to pick them up. As if that was not enough, he is now making me fetch ducks. He told me that my ancestors were hunting dogs who would retrieve ducks and pheasants from the fields and ponds. He threw a fake duck into the pool and told me to "fetch". I swam out, checked out the duck, sure enough, it was fake. So I told him to give me a real duck or he could fetch it himself.

He complained about my attitude. He says that my ancestors had to swim out in muddy swamps, in freezing cold to retrieve wild game. He said that I have it easy, I swim out in clean, 80 degree water. If it is so easy, why doesn't he do it? Humans, you can't please them and they are very hard to train. .

Monday, August 4, 2008

That was fast. Friday afternoon we picked up Chase at his home and brought him to our house as a foster dog to begin his search for a new home. Saturday afternoon a lady came to see him and Chase was gone. He has a wonderful new home, his new family recently lost their old golden and they are ready to love a new friend. In between, Chase had to spend the night with another blond lady named Vanilla. Vanilla and Chase played all night long, at 3:00 a.m. the humans had to get up, separate the two so the household could get to sleep.

Chase, we miss you and we wish you a long and fun life at your new home. Above is our last picture of Chase as he says goodbye to the pool on his way to a new home. Another wonderful dog is off to a wonderful life.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Yesterday evening my humans slipped out without telling me where they were going. When they arrived back home they had a new foster friend with them. Chase is his name, playing is his game. He is a 9 month old male, full of energy and ready to play. He was surrendered to Golden Retriever Rescue because he played too rough with the three young children in the house and one child had very bad allergies. Chase and I got acquainted on a short walk in the park, then we all went into the back yard to run. It was a hot day, so I went for a swim and Chase, not knowing what a pool was, went right in with me. It scared him a little, when he came out he could not stand up, his thick coat was so full of water he fell down. All of the pictures below are with Chase being wet or damp, so his coat is not showing at his best. He has a magnificent white fluffy coat when it is dry and fluffy. We probably won't see him dry and fluffy again till he goes to his new forever home. The humans say that when he runs his coat shakes and he looks like a ballerina.

Some friends stopped by last night, Barkley, the pesky Pomeranian, Reba, a year old Golden, and Theo, an older lady. We all played far into the night. Barkley mixes it up with the big dogs and joins in the play times. Below, Chase, Bellla and I are playing on the living room floor early Saturday morning. Chase is looking for a new Forever Home, if you are ready for him, he is ready for you. Contact Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies by clicking on the link to the left of the blog. Help this beautiful boy find a wonderful home! You may also donate on line to help this great bunch of volunteers. Wonderful people helping wonderful dogs!